A Pastor of one of the fastest growing churches, a mega church resigned recently because of burnout. Another former pastor of a super fast growing mega church announced that he is out of rehab for alcohol addiction which he turned to, to deal  with the pressure of ministry. One Christian magazine declared that burnout amoung pastors of all size churches is epidemic.  I came close to leaving ministry and going back into the dairy business in 1989 because of burnout. Many things changed in my life that year and have continued to change, as I attempt to run the race with endurance that God has set before me. I wouldn’t say I am the world’s foremost expert on the topic, but I have figured out how to read my own gauges and know when my emotional gas tank is getting down below half a tank, and I know how to fill it up full quickly. The foundation of good self management for me is keeping very accurate records of how I use my time, and setting very clear goals of basic spiritual disciplines that tend to get compromised when we get busy. One of those basic disciplines is a minimum of one hour of prayer every day by myself. Most of my praying is for others, but I still feel the blessing of God’s strength, His joy, and His peace that fills me because of this discipline. One would think that by this time in my life and ministry prayer would be easy, but if I don’t make goals, keep good records, and have others holding me accountable I will slip into a “on the fly” prayer person that is giving God convenient,  left over time. My flesh hates to pray, and pride, self sufficiency, business, contribute to the struggle. Ministry is fun when I am full of fire, passion, vision, joy, and faith. Those don’t come from willing them into our life, they come from God as a gift for giving Him time.